Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined

At 93, Glennette Tilley Turner is still following stories—and still making history visible. For nearly 50 years, Glennette has researched and shared the stories of freedom seekers who traveled the Illinois Underground Railroad, illuminating a largely overlooked chapter of our nation’s history. An innovative educator, author, historian, consultant, speaker, and tour guide, she...

Retirement has afforded Ann Stanford, age 75, “unbelievable luxury—the space and freedom to let things bubble up.” She savors this time to reflect on how she really wants to live and what it means to become fully herself. Always a writer, a former mentor to adult learners, and now a spiritual companion, Ann is committed to “telling my own truths”—and helping others express th...

At 89, Cynthia Goren is navigating a profound new chapter. Since the death of her husband last October after 67 years of marriage, she has become more aware of her own mortality—and more determined to live meaningfully. For Cynthia, that means continuing to learn, staying engaged in the things she loves, and, above all, helping others.

“People need favors,” she says. “P...

For much of her life, writer Melinda Blau, 82, was curious about older women. Now she is discovering what it means to be one.

Melinda began her career in educational publishing, where writers don’t have to worry about word count. Later, working on her first magazine piece for New York, her editor, T. George Harris challenged her: “You skip through life. Why are y...

As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Paula, 77, understood early what it meant to live with absence. Her parents each lost their entire families eventually meeting after the war and emigrating to the United States with Paula.

Paula read every book she could find about the Holocaust, asking herself: Why do people do this to one another? Her parents' understandi...